This invention generally relates to sleeve type, rolling lobe airsprings as distinguished from bellows type airsprings and more particularly to a high ratio L/D sleeve type rolling lobe airspring that exhibits full recovery upon pressurization from a full jounce position and column stabilization under load in a pressurized condition.
A rolling lobe airspring is defined as a pneumatic device that has a piston attached to an inner bead at one end of an enclosed reversible flexible member and upon the application of load forces to the device, the flexible member is caused to roll down over the piston. While various types and configurations of rolling lobe airsprings are known and used in the art, the purpose of this invention is to provide an economically produced sleeve type rolling lobe airspring that has a higher L/D ratio than heretofore produced and which is column stabilized against lateral deflections that have tended to limit the working height and thus the L/D ratio of the flexible membrane that could be tolerated in some applications.
The invention further provides a high ratio L/D sleeve type airspring that, upon being pressurized, recovers from lateral kinks in the sleeve acquired in a full jounce position.